A Prayer for When Your Life Seems Overwhelming
By Betsy de Cruz
“Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” - Joshua 22:5
Some days I look more like a chicken running around with its head cut off than a Jesus Girl. It’s hard to keep that peaceful, serene, filled-with-the-Spirit personality when you’re trying to do five things at once. Instead of feeling love, joy, and peace, I feel overwhelmed, tense, and anxious.
Perhaps you can relate. You have so much to do that you can barely hold yourself together. If you’re like me, you have more things on your list today than you could possibly accomplish. It’s hard to order your priorities when you have so many that you can’t even keep them straight.
We’re busy driving kids to activities, working at our jobs, supporting aging parents, and trying to make dinner each night. So many different responsibilities can make it hard to order our steps. When we get overwhelmed, Scripture reminds us to return to simple priorities.
Joshua’s call to the Israelites happened after a busy season of battle; they must have been bone-weary when they’d finished the task of conquering Canaan. God was calling them to a season of rest, but Joshua wanted to remind them of their most important assignment: to observe and keep God’s commandment.
What was that commandment? “To love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Joshua’s words point us to our main priorities as well.
Friend, if you feel overwhelmed by life’s burdens and responsibilities, how about seeking a return to simpler living? Life becomes less complicated when we view success through the lens of loving and serving God each day.
What if we changed our to-do list so that it read like this?
- Love God
- Walk in His Ways
- Keep His commandments
- Cling to Him
- Serve him with our heart and soul
What could you do to unclutter your life today? How would your day change for the better if you made it your primary goal to love and serve God both at work and at home?
Let’s pray:
Lord,
Help me remember my primary purpose in life. I want to seek you first and live for your kingdom, but sometimes I end up so overwhelmed by my commitments and responsibilities that I forget my true priority is to love you first. Forgive me for letting other things get in the way of my relationship with you.
Help me see my life through your eyes and give me a sense of your priorities for me, so I can follow your design for my days. Give me a heart to love your word and a longing to obey it.
Show me today what walking in your ways and clinging to you looks like. Help me simplify my life, so that my main goal becomes loving you with my whole heart, soul, and strength.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Betsy de Cruz helps overwhelmed women take small steps to invite more of God’s presence and power into their lives. Connect with Betsy to get your free Quiet Time Renewal Guide and other resources at FaithSpillingOver.com. Her book More of God is a distracted woman’s guide to more meaningful quiet times. After living in the Middle East for 16 years with her husband and two children, Betsy landed in Texas, where she still enjoys drinking chai with friends.
Related Resource: "I AM" - A Lenten Journey with Jesus
When the world feels heavy, clarity isn’t always what we need most. Sometimes what we need is presence. In John 8:12, Jesus doesn’t promise all the answers. He promises Himself: “I am the light of the world.” Light doesn’t show us the entire path—it gives us enough to take the next step. It reminds us that we are not alone in the dark, and that God is present with us even when things feel uncertain. I’m praying this meditation reminds you that Jesus is present—and you don’t have to walk in the dark alone. This week’s guided Scripture meditation is part of my larger Lent series that invites you to slow down, listen, and follow the Light who leads to life.
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Originally published Thursday, 28 October 2021.
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